CORONAVIRUS (COVID-19) VACCINATION: OPINIONS AND ATTITUDES OF SOCIAL WORKERS. A GREEK NATIONAL SURVEY

There is a general belief that vaccines constitute the most effective form of limiting the spread of diseases and protecting public health. Yet, as highly effective tools as vaccines may be, studies reveal that the rates of support and acceptance of vaccinations during the COVID-19 pandemic from public health personnel in Western countries indicate hesitancy among them. As professional Social Workers are part of the public health personnel who are priority groups for many vaccinations, the present study focused on their opinions and attitudes towards vaccination and their role in motivating their beneficiaries. The purpose of this quantitative Greek National Survey among 771 Social Workers, members of the Association of Social Workers of Greece (ASGLE), who are professionally active in Greece, was to understand and analyze their attitudes towards the available vaccines against COVID-19 and compulsory vaccination. Through the online self-completion questionnaire, which was used for the collection of data, the survey also aimed to evaluate the Social Workers’ knowledge and sources from which they received information about Covid-19, their motivational sources, their views on compulsory vaccination of health professionals and their views on motivating their beneficiaries with regards to vaccination.  Article visualizations

AN INVESTIGATION OF THE IMPACT OF SOCIAL MEDIA ON THE PROCESS OF IDENTITY EXPLORATION AND THE EMERGENCE OF EATING DISORDERS IN STUDENT LIFE

As the physical and psychological well-being has become a cultural and public health focus in Western countries, the impact of social networking sites has been highlighted, especially for the young who are in the process of identity formation. For them, the rapidly evolving social media world is increasing in importance as the main arena for socializing, experimentation, exploration and communication. Studies connect the exposure of adolescents and young adults to social media with body image dissatisfaction and eating disorders (ED), mainly bulimia, anorexia and binge eating. Especially the media cultivating beauty ideals are predictors of the development of eating pathology. The aim of this study is to investigate the relationship between social media platforms and eating disorders in students and whether their use influences the process of identity formation. With a sample of 158 students from the University of Patras, the measuring instruments used in the study were a structured questionnaire to investigate the effect of social media on eating disorders and the process of identity exploration and the Bulimic Investigatory Test, Edinburgh (BITE) questionnaire to investigate the episodes of binge eating, predisposition to bulimia nervosa and the cognitive and behavioral manifestations of bulimia.  Article visualizations

Investigation of the effect of psychosocial characteristics in health and quality of life in general families with schizophrenic disorder

AIM :The aim of this study was to describe the sociodemographic characteristics and levels of psychopathology, hostility, social support, family atmosphere and quality of life of family caregivers of individuals with mental illness, as well as to compare all the above characteristics with the collaboration or not of the family caregivers with Family Support Associations for people with mental illness. METHODS AND MATERIAL: Used purposeful sampling and specifically the type of snowball sampling by using a gatekeeper. 510 family caregivers participated in this study. The study took place in the southeast part of Greece (Attica, Peloponnesus, Epirus, Central Greece and Ionia Irelands). It lasted from 1/1/2010 till 31/12/2014. The study sample was collected from 22 mental health service units as well as family associations for mental health. Data were collected through the following questionnaires: a sociodemographic questionnaire, the SCL-90 that measures psychopathology, SSQ-6 that measures social support, FES that measures Family Atmosphere, HDHQ that measures hostility and WHOOL-BREF that measures quality of lifeRESULTS: Data showed that family caregivers in Greece, on average are married women (mean age: 56,58). Their relation with the mental health patient was parental for the most part of the sample. Half of the atypical caregivers were either University graduates, or High School graduates, while there were high percentages of divorces. The mean age experience with psychosis was 16,99 years. The majority of the caregivers were unemployed, had their own residence, where on average resided 4 family members, while 45% of the caregivers had a monthly income of 900€. Half of the caregivers reported that they had chronic health issues and were under medication. The sociodemographic characteristics of the mental health patients were as follows: the majority were males of 39.14 years mean age. They resided with their families mainly in urban areas. A small minority were employed (16,5%), while according to their caregivers 69,4% adhered to medical treatment and 35,5% were aware of their illness. The study showed that atypical caregivers of mental health patients had higher levels of psychopathology and more hostility, when compared to general population and less social support and quality of life, while family atmosphere dimensions were under normal scores. With regard to caregivers’ participation in Mental Health Family Associations data showed that, while caregivers that belong to those associations face more difficulties in their everyday lives, however they manage to maintain their ill family member in a better clinical and functional condition, when compared with caregivers that do not belong to a family association CONCLUSIONS: This study showed that, under certain conditions including a structured framework of collaboration between Mental Health Family Associations and Public Mental Health Services, the specification of roles and the constant supervision and evaluation of their programs, parent associations’ support and extension, when combined with opportunities for employment and rehabilitation of the mental health patients, can become a new realistic mental health policy, that will improve the patients’ and the caregivers’ quality of life, prove cost–effective, increase the satisfaction of the clinical population and the effectiveness of the therapeutic interventions at all levels (prevention, therapy and social rehabilitation.ΣΚΟΠΟΣ :Σκοπός της μελέτης ήταν αφενός να περιγράψει τα κοινωνικά και δημογραφικά χαρακτηριστικά, καθώς και τα επίπεδα ψυχοπαθολογίας, εχθρότητας, κοινωνικής στήριξης, οικογενειακής ατμόσφαιρας και ποιότητας ζωής σε συγγενείς φροντιστές ατόμων με ψυχωτική συμπτωματολογία, αφετέρου να συγκρίνει όλα τα παραπάνω χαρακτηριστικά σε σχέση με την ένταξη ή μη των φροντιστών σε Συλλόγους για τη Ψυχική Υγεία – ΣΟ.Ψ.Υ ΜΕΘΟΔΟΛΟΓΙΑ ΥΛΙΚΟ: Χρησιμοποιήθηκε δειγματοληψία σκοπού και συγκεκριμένα η τεχνική της χιονοστιβάδας με χρήση θυρωρού. Το δείγμα της έρευνας αποτέλεσαν 510 φροντιστές. Η έρευνα έλαβε χώρα στη νοτιοδυτική Ελλάδα (Αττική, Πελοπόννησο, Ήπειρο, Στερεά Ελλάδα και Ιόνια νησιά) και διήρκεσε από την 1/1/2010 έως την 31/12/2014. Για τη συγκέντρωση του δείγματος συνεργάστηκαν 22 Μονάδες Ψυχικής Υγείας, καθώς και Σύλλογοι για τη Ψυχική Υγεία. Για τη συγκέντρωση των δεδομένων χρησιμοποιήθηκε ερωτηματολόγιο για κοινωνικά και δημογραφικά δεδομένα, το ερωτηματολόγιο SCL-90 για τη μέτρηση της ψυχοπαθολογίας, το ερωτηματολόγιο SSQ-6 για την κοινωνική στήριξη, η Κλίμακα Οικογενειακής Ατμόσφαιρας FES, το ερωτηματολόγιο HDHQ για την εχθρότητα και το ερωτηματολόγιο WHOQOL-BREF για τη διερεύνηση της ποιότητας ζωής. ΑΠΟΤΕΛΕΣΜΑΤΑ: Τα αποτελέσματα έδειξαν ότι και στην Ελλάδα οι φροντιστές είναικατά κανόνα έγγαμες γυναίκες με μέση ηλικία Μ=56,58 έτη. Η σχέση τους με τον ασθενή ήταν ως επί το πλείστον γονεϊκή. Οι μισοί από τους άτυπους φροντιστές ήταν είτε πτυχιούχοι Τριτοβάθμιας Εκπαίδευσης, είτε απόφοιτοι Λυκείου, ενώ παρατηρήθηκε υψηλό ποσοστό οικογενειακής διασπασης. Η εμπειρία τους με τη ψύχωση ήταν 16,99 έτη. Η πλειοψηφία των φροντιστών δεν εργαζόταν, είχε ιδιόκτητη κατοικία στην οποία διέμεναν κατά κανόνα έως τέσσερα άτομα και το 45% περίπου είχε ατομικό μηνιαίο εισόδημα έως 900€ το μήνα. Οι μισοί δήλωσαν ότι αντιμετώπιζαν οι ίδιοι χρόνια προβλήματα υγείας και λάμβαναν σε μόνιμη βάση φαρμακευτική αγωγή. Ως προς τα χαρακτηριστικά των ασθενών τα κυρίαρχα ήταν ότι η πλειοψηφία ήταν άνδρες ασθενείς με μέση ηλικία τα 39,14 έτη, οι οποίοι διέμεναν με την οικογένειά τους κυρίως στα αστικά κέντρα. Ελάχιστοι εργάζονταν (16,5%), ενώ κατά την άποψη των φροντιστών τους το 69,4% παρουσίαζε συμμόρφωση με τη φαρμακευτική αγωγή και το 35,5% εναισθησία. Η έρευνα έδειξε ότι οι άτυποι φροντιστές ασθενών με ψυχωτική συμπτωματολογία είχαν μεγαλύτερη ψυχοπαθολογία και μεγαλύτερη εχθρότητα σε σχέση με το γενικό πληθυσμό και μικρότερη κοινωνική στήριξη και ποιότητα ζωής, ενώ οι διαστάσεις της οικογενειακής ατμόσφαιρας κινούνταν συνήθως κάτω από τις φυσιολογικές τιμές. Σε σχέση με την ένταξη τους σε ΣΟ.Ψ.Υ. διαπιστώθηκε ότι ενώ οι φροντιστές που ανήκουν σε αυτούς αντιμετωπίζουν μεγαλύτερες δυσκολίες στην καθημερινότητά τους, εντούτοις καταφέρνουν να διατηρούν τους ασθενείς συγγενείς τους σε καλύτερη κλινική και λειτουργική κατάσταση σε σχέση με τους φροντιστές που δεν ανήκουν σε ΣΟ.Ψ.Υ. ΣΥΜΠΕΡΑΣΜΑΤΑ: Η έρευνα έδειξε ότι κάτω από προϋποθέσεις και ένα αυστηρό δομημένο πλαίσιο που θα βασίζεται στη συνεργασία των Συλλόγων για τη Ψυχική Υγεία με τις δημόσιες υπηρεσίες ψυχικής υγείας, το σαφή προσδιορισμό ρόλων και τη συνεχή εποπτεία και αξιολόγηση των προγραμμάτων τους, η στήριξη και επέκταση των Συλλόγων αυτών σε συνδυασμό με την προώθηση στην απασχόληση των ληπτών υπηρεσιών ψυχικής υγείας δύναται να αποτελέσει μια νέα ρεαλιστική πολιτική ψυχικής υγείας, που θα βελτιώσει την ποιότητα ζωής ασθενών και των φροντιστών τους, θα εξοικονομήσει πόρους, ενώ θα αυξήσει τόσο την ικανοποίηση των άμεσα ωφελουμένων όσο και την αποτελεσματικότητα των παρεμβάσεων σε όλα τα επίπεδα (πρόληψη, θεραπεία, ψυχοκοινωνική αποκατάσταση)

Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the mental health of hospital staff : An umbrella review of 44 meta-analyses

Background: Hospital staff is at high risk of developing mental health issues during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. However, the literature lacks an overall and inclusive picture of mental health problemswith comprehensive analysis among hospital staff during the COVID-19 pandemic. Objectives: To ascertain the prevalence of anxiety, depression and other mental health outcomes as reported in original articles among hospital staff during the COVID-19 pandemic. Design: A PRISMA 2020 and MOOSE 2000 compliant umbrella review of published meta-analyses of observational studies evaluating the prevalence of mental health problems in hospital staff during the pandemic. Review methods: Systematic searcheswere conducted in PubMed/Medline, CINAHL, EMBASE, and PsycINFO from December 1st, 2019, until August 13th 2021. The randomeffects model was used for the meta-analysis, and the I-2 indexwas employed to assess between-study heterogeneity. Publication bias using Egger test and LFK indexwas examined. Data was analyzed using STATA 17.0 software. AMSTAR-2 was applied for the quality assessment of systematic reviews, while we used GRADE to rate the quality of evidence. Results: Forty-four meta-analyses from1298 individual studieswere included in the final analysis, encompassing the prevalence of 16 mental health symptoms. One-third of hospital workers reported anxiety (Prevalence: 29.9%, 95% CI:27.1% to 32.7%) and depression (Prevalence: 28.4%, 95% CI:25.5% to 31.3%) symptomatology, while about 40% (95% CI: 36.9% to 42.0%) suffered from sleeping disorders. Fear-related symptoms, reduced well-being, poor quality of life, and acute stress symptoms had the highest prevalence among hospital staff. However, the quality of evidence in these areas varied from low to very low. Nurses suffered more often from sleep problems and symptoms of anxiety and depression than doctors, whereas doctors reported a higher prevalence of acute stress and post-traumatic disorders. The burden of anxiety, depression, and sleep disorders was higher among female employees than their male counterparts. Remarkably, acute stress and insomnia affected more than half of first-line medical staff. Conclusions: The prevalence of mental health problems among hospital staff during the COVID-19 pandemic is generally high, with anxiety, depression and insomnia symptoms representing the most robust evidence based on a large dataset of prevalence meta-analyses. However, there is no strong confidence in the body of evidence for each outcome assessed. (C) 2022 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Ltd

Economic Recession and Attendances in the Pediatric Emergency Department

The economic recession has been shown to have a negative impact on health services worldwide. The purpose of this study was to examine whether the recent financial crisis in Greece that started in 2009 has affected the attendances in the pediatric emergency department of a University Hospital covering for a large geographical area in Greece. The study was based on a retrospective analysis of the cases presented to the paediatric emergency department and compared the attendances in 2008 (i.e., before the beginning of the economic crisis) with those in 2013 and 2017. Data on demographics and characteristics of emergency department visits, such as timing, reason, and outcome were recorded for each child. There were a total of 35.572 children seeking examination in those three years and data were collected for 5662 (17.36%) of them. Overall, the attendance rate has increased up to 20% without an increase to the hospital admission rates which remained stable throughout the study periods. Between 2008 and 2017, the percentage of febrile children attending the ED increased by 33.8% and of those with respiratory disorders by 63.1%. Our results indicate that the need for pediatric hospital services has changed following the economic crisis which could reflect gaps in the primary care setting and could well also result from financial constraints

Efficacy of a support group intervention on psychopathological characteristics among caregivers of psychotic patients

Background: Families of individuals with psychotic disorders are playing a major role in the care of their relatives, but report poorer physical competence, elevated symptoms of psychological distress and more psychopathological characteristics. Aim: To compare psychopathological characteristics demonstrated by caregivers of psychotic patients in Greece who participated in support groups organized by non-governmental mental health organizations (NGOMH) compared to caregivers who did not. Methods: Participants were caregivers of a psychotic patient assigned to either the intervention group (n=165) or the non-intervention group (n=345) according to specific criteria. Participants were assessed for psychopathological characteristics through clinical interviews and with the Symptom Checklist 90-Revised (SCL-90-R). Results: Participants who did not take part in the support groups had higher levels of psychopathological characteristics on the dimensions of interpersonal sensitivity (t=-2.065, p=.003), depression (t=1.043, p=.007), anxiety (t=1.001, p=.010), hostility (t=-4.345, p<.001), phobic anxiety (t=-2.845, p<.001) and paranoid ideation (t=-1.091, p<.001). Psychotic relatives of participating caregivers show higher compliance rates in taking their medications, and female caregivers tend to be more involved in the support groups. Conclusion: Participation in support groups and sharing of emotional expression, thoughts and ideas help the caregivers deal with their physical and psychological demands related to the caregiver load. As such, intervention strategies offered to caregivers in the support groups appear to positively contribute to the family with a psychotic patient and improve the quality of life of both patients and their main caregivers